Publications

The Banggai-Sula Foreland Basin in the Matindok Block is the product of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene collision between the Banggai Sula microcontinent and the East Sulawesi Ophiolite (ESO)-Magmatic Arc of Sundaland. Miocene Carbonate plays, either build-up, pop-up structure or imbricates thrust are proven petroleum plays in several gas and oil fields in the Matindok Block. In 2014, Pertamina EP drilled 2 (two) onshore wells, Matindok-7 and Penyu-1, and discovered Gas and Condensate in the M-52 carbonate layer of Plio-Pleistocene Celebes Mollase. Based on gas geochemistry analysis, gas and condensate samples in Matindok-7 are of possible thermogenic origin while gas samples in Penyu-1 are possibly of biogenic origin. These discoveries were significantly important because they counter the results of all previous studies that only concluded that Celebes Mollase acts as an overburden sediment and regional seal. There is no detailed study about the petroleum system of Pliocene Celebes Mollase especially about the M-52 Carbonate layer depositional models relevance to reservoir quality and possible stratigraphic trap. In this study, using mostly 2D and 3D seismic datasets, biostratigraphy and petrography reports, regional wells data, field mapping reports and analog model references from published papers, we evaluated and modeled the M-52 carbonate layer depositional system. In summary, the M-52 carbonate was seen to be spreading all over the onshore area of the Matindok block and onlapping to Mentawa-Donggi-Senoro. The build-up trend on the eastern part and it consists of mudstone to wackstone facies, only 4 to 10 meter thick and with a porosity range from 5 to 19 %. Thin section interpretation on M-52 interval from several wells show possible distal re-deposited deep water carbonate. Seismic amplitude and spectral decomposition maps are able to define the geometry of calci-turbidite fans.